I wanted to pull up a thread from last year, but had trouble yielding anything from that far back with the search engine. If anyone can do that, it might be fun to revisit some of our thoughts. Last year at this time, most of the BBS was pretty unhappy with the rule change doing away with illegal defense. We felt the rule change was targeted at us and were sure it would cause the game to slow down, and scoring to plummet, despite the defensive-3 rule. There were differences in opinion on the extent teams would play zone defenses and whether or not that was a good thing. Now that the season's over, what are people's thoughts? How have expectations been fulfilled or changed? Why?
I thought the rules would HELP the Rockets. I assumed too much by thinking that Rudy would be able to throw in some new wrinkles defensively, to make up for the fact that our man-to-man defense is the worst in the NBA. Of course, Rudy didn't bother to change anything offensively or defensively, and that is how we got our ass kicked more often than not last year. Yes, injuries played a role, but Rudy rarely put the Rockets into their best position to win games. That is what a coach is supposed to do.
There was some article written near the end of the season where it mentioned Rudy had created a hexagonal offense. He was going to put it in play last year, but with the injuries was unable to do so. Defensively, I don't know if he did anything, but injuries could hurt a defensive plan too.
Injuries really shouldn't hurt any kind of "defensive plan". All the Rockets need to do is buckle down on defense. None of the Rockets ever seem to take pride in playing tough d. Injuries or not, every Rocket from Francis to the 12th man should be busting their ass off defensively. What the hell is a hexagonal offense? Rudy planned on using 6 guys on the court instead of 5? Or is it the triangle offense X2? Or does it open up iso opportunities for Collier? Injuries to players, should not mean that a coach goes on vacation. If anything, injuries are what should force a coach to make strategic changes.
Put yourself in his shoes. Your team now has a quick pg, a sharpshooting sf, and a good shooting PF. You set up an offense to work this to your advantage. Then the season comes. The PF goes down. His backup can't shoot as well. Your SF can't even play, let alone shoot. His backups can't shoot either. Now your superstar goes down. The guy who sets up the play and uses his quickness. His backup is not very quick. What do you do now? You don't have time to make another offense. Even if you do, the players keep going in and out of the starting lineup. Injuries could effect a defense also. Although you can't do a complete zone, you could do some type. Besides, is it his fault that everyone doesn't play 150%? I'm sure he tried to push them. I also don't know what a hexagonal offense is. Remember, he didn't get to use it. It may just look like a hexagon with a missing piece, I don't know.
Yes, actually it is his fault. Players in the NBA today, need a coach who they respect enough to play defense. As ridiculous of a statement that is, it is true. Players have to be pushed like crazy to play defense, as well as the player has to respect the coach to listen to his orders. The Rockets simply do not put in enough effort for Rudy. Why is that? Because they don't respect his authority. Why is that? Because he's too much of a "player's coach". Being a "player's coach" is ok if you have a team full of veterans who don't need the kick in the ass that young players do. However, Rudy seems to be just about powerless when it comes to directing the team. I can't think of a coach who has a "What the hell just happened?" look on his face more than Rudy, from last year. The players rarely did anything he asked for them to do. Rudy must somehow change his coaching style to mold with the current team he has. Don't get me wrong, Rudy was a great coach in the mid to late 90s, but his style doesn't fit in with this current unit at all. Something will have to give if the Rockets want to win anytime soon. The young players need to motivate themselves more, or Rudy must be a more fiery, in your face coach.
Ok, lets fire Rudy and get Van gundy. Then our team would go 82-0. Do you think Rudy doesn't try to get them to play D? How do you think he got the job? I also think it is hard to play D when you give up a few inches(KT), give up a few pounds(Eddie), and is not a starter.(Mooch.) I admit Steve needs to play better D, but don't you think the acquired Ming will change that? With Ming and Eddie blocking shots, our guards could play tighter without worrying if they drive pass them.
A hexagonal offense is what The Lakers run . . . It's like the triangle offense, but it includes 3 refs on your side as well
I like the effect the rules changes had. Of course, a year ago, I was in favor of the changes, so I may not be a good test case. But, I really enjoyed following the teams like Minnesota who tried to take full advantage of the change.
